Do Not Conform to the Pattern of this World

I confess that I lived a good part of my life chasing after material possessions, comfort, pleasure and success. I arrogantly believed I knew what was best for me.

My desires were my god.

I followed the pattern of this world.

What I Finally Realized

Eventually it dawned on me, what I was doing was not really working. I wasn’t happy. My relationships were not going well. I was never satisfied. I felt lost and alone.

I realized I needed a change.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT

The pattern for living that I was copying wasn’t working out for me. It didn’t satisfy me in any real way.

No matter what I did, regardless of my level of success, what I bought or how many vacations I took, I eventually wound up thirsty again.

Let the Transformation Begin

Finally, I decided to try going to church. I had gone as a child. I was even baptized when I was about 12 years old so, I had some knowledge of God. However, I had drifted far away from His plan for my life.

It was at this point that He began changing the way I think. He started renewing my mind. By exposing myself to God, I was spiritually transformed.

The Renovation Journey Continues

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. Philippians 3:12 NLT

I’ve been a Christ Follower for a number of years now. However, He still has a lot of transforming still to do in me.

But, I can say that my life is SO much better now than it used to be. Things just keep improving. That’s not to say that I don’t still encounter the same trials and problems that everyone else does, but through His grace, I have grown in love, joy and peace which help me deal with life’s ups and downs.

He is renewing my mind. He is transforming me from the inside out. Little by little, the patterns of this world are being chipped away and a new creature is emerging.

Amen! I pray for continual blessings for you and your wife! I, like you, returned to know more and to seek The Lord more profoundly several years ago thanks to clear callings to do so and trials( blessings) that showed me how much I need Him in my everyday/ every minute life. My husband has yet to seek Him deeper but I know that God can change that in one breath. Please pray for my husband to see how much God wants him to seek Him and how He will meet him like the “Prodigal Son”. And all of life’s trials can be handled with peace and joy in this way.
Thank you for your articles and sharing your perspectives!
Your friend in Christ

Patty, I just said a prayer for your husband. God is good. He will answer your prayers. It might take awhile, but the day will come. You obviously already have a strong faith. That’s awesome. God will honor that too. Thanks so much for visiting my site and leaving me a comment. It is much appreciated!

burtggg77

There is not enough preaching about not conforming to the world. And certainly not enough people that are refusing to conform to the world. Many who think they are, are really still conforming.

I say these things because once I made GOD the centerpiece of my whole life, my perspective of the world changed dramatically over time. Although, I had already suspected that society was broken mess for well over the past 30 years. Conformity has always been a bad thing. And many self proclaimed Christians are guilty of being like everyone else. I for one believe in what has been told regarding salvation. Only a few who seek the Kingdom will find it. It even tells us that many will seek and fail. And they will be very shocked to find out they were wrong.

Now this tells me that mostly churchgoers are the ones who will seek the popular path and fail. Because they have become politically correct. Allowing sinners to come into the church, not being told to come out of society. They drive up in fancy cars, and they leave in fancy cars. They go back to the secular style life with an eased conscience because of the money they put in the offering plate. It’s a sickening reality about how people are exploiting GOD to believe they aren’t spiritually dead. They want both the world and GOD. But this cannot be done.

Jesus said those who follow Him WILL be persecuted. He didn’t say what year or decade. He said it as if it will be the case, regardless of the year. In other words, only the ones who do not fit in society will be the Truth tellers. No matter if its 1865, 1957, or 2013. People will persecute anyone who follows Jesus THE WAY HE TOLD US TO. If a person is living a smug existence, while feeling good about themselves, then they likely aren’t serving GOD. Difficult to swallow? I have been accused of being on drugs and being crazy. And all those words came from ‘Christians” who praised their own reputation for being “cheerleaders for Jesus”.

I say this. GOD goes on a pedestal. GOD represents unadulterated TRUTH. And the only way we can serve Him is to live in Truth. And the only way to avoid hypocrisy is to not live amongst society. We are not above Sin. We cannot live with it without being in it. There’s far more to Jesus Christ than the carnal Christian’s explanation.

I agree with a lot of what you say here. For example, I agree that too many people conform to the world. Following Jesus makes you stick out because His ways (forgiveness, grace, generosity, unselfish love, righteousness, etc.) are very different than the world’s ways. And, as a result, Christ Followers are often persecuted (just as He was).

However, I think we also have to be very careful about thinking we are right and judging others for being wrong. See Luke 18:9-14.

If others are lost, then it is our job to feel empathy for them and to help them find their way to the real Jesus. That’s what He did. He rebuked the self-righteous Pharisees, but he gently guided and taught the sinners and tax collectors. John 3:16 says, “For WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish.” His offer is valid for everyone and I believe He wants to save as many as possible. We cannot exclude ourselves from society because of the Great Commission, but we also must not let the fallen culture suck us in.

We all need to humble ourselves before God. He’s the one that gives us eyes to see and ears to hear. We are saved by His enormous grace. For all of us have fallen short and always will as long as we are here on this Earth.

We want to stand out in a positive way for His glory to attract others to Him by what they see He’s done in our lives. If we aren’t glorifying God, then something is wrong with us.